Should you watch it, wiki it, or wait for the recap? Watch it.
When Leonard has to go for a minor operation for his sinuses, Sheldon has an unexpectedly large and negative reaction to it. Meanwhile, Raj’s parents’ divorce sends doubts into Howard and Bernadette’s marriage. Will Sheldon cope with Leonard’s possible (in his mind) death, and can Howard and Bernadette avoid the same fate as Raj’s parents?
“The Septum Deviation” is the ninth episode of the eighth season of The Big Bang Theory. It’s Sheldon-centric episode (then again, aren’t most of them?) which shows a different side of his character, an aspect that he would never admit but that we all knew he had in him.
The B plot, with Raj, Howard, and Bernadette, was kind of meh, although it did, surprisingly, provide more background on Raj. I like how it’s keeping up with the trend of giving us more focus on Raj, since he’s probably the most underdeveloped character in the series (and really, jokes about his race are stale and tired by now).
Highlights
Sheldon’s humanisation and reaction
I like how we’ve been seeing Sheldon’s vulnerabilities this season, first regarding his feelings towards Amy, and now his feelings towards Leonard. Not only does his characterisation provide the impetus for most of the plots this season, it also makes him slightly more likeable since he’s not always a douchebag now (though he tries his hardest to be). Also, it’s funny to see Sheldon get injured because he cares about Leonard.
Raj’s character development
Raj really gets very little development, when you think about it. It took ages for them to drop the “needs alcohol to talk to women” beat, and then much later to give him a girlfriend (in the form of Emily). So to hear about his parents’ split (since we’ve seen so much of them in Skypepisodes) and witness his reaction gives him a kind of relatability and vulnerability, just like Sheldon. He’s more human for it, and less of a stereotype now.
Many jokes are set up and paid off much later
This episode also features tight scripting and well plotted jokes, as evidenced in the number of jokes that are set up earlier and then paid off much, much later (watch Howard’s couples therapy joke for an example!). It shows evidence of better planning and stronger writing, and the episode benefits so much more from it.
Letdowns
Howard-Bernadette story is boring
It is. It’s very ordinary – it could be in any sitcom, and it really has no bearing on their geekiness or anything specific to their characters. It’s also resolved in a very patronising way – come on, surely there are more dimensions to the Howard-Bernadette relationship than this? Didn’t we see a variation of this just a few episodes ago?
Raj’s story has no resolution
As with the Howard-Bernadette plot, this one just fizzles into a condescending climax. What? Couldn’t they have provided something better to end his character revelation with?
“The Septum Deviation” is a good episode, if not fantastic, and fortunately keeps up the improved quality of episodes this season. It’s well worth watching, and sets up possible future plots with Raj’s parents.
Leave a Reply